Game:

Dance Dance Revolution A (2016)

Duration: 3:35:39

343 views

19

In this video, I interview Don "Phrekwenci" D'Amato. Don was one of the most influential freestylers of the Dance Dance Revolution community in the United States during the early 2000s, as well as being part of some of the most iconic moments in DDR history during this time period.

We talk about how he got into playing Dance Dance Revolution, the Long Island DDR scene, what made him lean toward being a freestyler, winning the 2002 Sportsworld tournament, and being part of running the Digital Life tournaments in the Jacob Javit's Center in New York City. Don has also been a big part of DDR in the media during this time, helping other players be on MTV and in music videos, as well as Don himself being in the news and other media for the game.

Don's vision for step chart creation, performing routines in DDR tournaments, being a moderator and administrator to a gaming website with close to a million people, and networking with companies and people involved in the community to give the game a positive media spotlight are only some of the reasons his presence in the early days of the DDR community has been impactful.

0:00 - Introduction
1:39 - How Phrekwenci Got into DDR
6:28 - Starting to Play DDR in Long Island
9:50 - Long Island Players and Arcades Around 2002
18:26 - Other Freestylers in Long Island
19:44 - How the Nickname “Phrekwenci” Came About
21:00 - Getting into Freestyle
24:05 - Connection Between Queens and Long Island
26:30 - Becoming a Moderator and Administrator on DDRFreak
35:35 - Getting Involved in Simfile and Stepchart Creation
40:18 - The Vibe of the Early DDR Community
44:13 - Phrekwenci’s Freestyle Influences
45:35 - Tour de Dance
53:29 - FYE Lock-ins
1:00:02 - Going from 5th Mix to DDRMAX
1:08:11 - NYDS “Fix-out”
1:10:14 - Playing DDRMAX2 (7th Mix)
1:14:41 - Spekio’s Kakumei Edit
1:16:24 - Good Songs in MAX2
1:17:58 - DDR Player Nugget as a Rival to Phrekwenci
1:21:15 - Phrekwenci’s DDRMAX2 Freestyles
1:22:35 - Phrekwenci Stealthing
1:24:03 - Entering Freestyle Competitions
1:26:30 - Leading Up to the 2002 Sportsworld Tournament
1:30:55 - Other Freestylers at the 2002 Sportsworld Tournament
1:32:46 - Performing Drifting Away to win the Freestyle Division
1:39:15 - Watching PerfectAsymmetry Win the Sportsworld 2002 Expert Division
1:43:38 - Entering the Albany, NY CSA1 Tournament
1:47:45 - Phataxel Performing a Parody of Phrekwenci’s Wild Rush Routine
1:53:07 - The Release of DDR Extreme
1:53:50 - Stealthing Kiss Me All Night Long
1:57:19 - Opinions on Ten Footers
2:03:28 - 2003 Christmas of Fire Sportsworld Tournament
2:08:00 - Helping Run the 2004 DDR@NYC Digital Life Tournament
2:16:13 - Phrekwenci on Fox News for DDR
2:23:15 - Why Phrekwenci Thinks DDR Will Never Be Big
2:29:35 - Impressions on In The Groove
2:34:30 - Involvement in In The Groove 3
2:39:45 - Being Part of the DanceTrax Project
2:56:01 - Helping Run the Other DDR@NYC Digital Life Tournaments
3:02:25 - Working with MTV to get Phataxel on The TRL Show
3:06:40 - Being in the MSI Music Video “Never Wanted to Dance”
3:12:35 - Jimin “Vagrant Fiend” in the Video Music Video “Dragonfly”
3:16:39 - NYC DDR Players Getting Closure
3:18:28 - Three Songs That Describe DDR 5th Mix
3:19:30 - Three Songs That Describe DDRMAX2
3:21:31 - Three Songs That Describe DDR Extreme
3:24:46 - Favorite Phrekwenci Freestyles
3:25:17 - Favorite Freestyles from Other People
3:28:35 - Funny DDR Memory: Vagrant Fiend Winning Without Playing
3:31:34 - Phrekwenci’s Impact on DDR
3:33:08 - Playing DDR World
3:35:11 - Outro

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Background Music Credit
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Music Credit: STEESH
Track Name: "Tranquility"
Music By: STEESH: https://x.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2Fsteeshhaggie
Official "STEESH" YouTube Channel HERE - https://www.youtube.com/@IamSteesh
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